Perry running to restore military 'respect' for presidency

Rick Perry strayed from a tribute to military service to tell an audience in Waterloo, Iowa, that he's running in part to restore the respect of the military to its civilian leaders.

"One of the reasons that I’m running for president is I want to make sure that every young man and woman who puts on the uniform of the United States respects highly the president of the United States," he said.

The line is a reversal of the usual pledges of respect for the military from politicians, and Perry seemed to suggest that Obama lacks the qualities of a commander-in-chief in being able to command the troops.

The line could be taken either as a slur on the military -- they're pretty much obligated to respect the president, or at least the presidency; or as a sort of validation of military doubts about civilian leadership, which isn't exactly standard issue politics in the developed world.

But if the line is close to the edge, it may also resonate, capturing discontent with Obama that's common among soldiers, and serving as a reminder that Perry's the only leading Republican to have served.